POLIN Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich

POLIN Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich

POLIN Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich
4.5
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews is the first and only museum dedicated to restoring the memory of the civilization created by Polish Jews in the course of a millennium.Museum's building faces the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes in Warsaw. The Museum completes the memorial complex. At the monument, we honor those who perished by remembering how they died. At the museum, we honor them, and those who came before and after, by remembering how they lived. As a museum of life, POLIN Museum engages with the present and opens out to the future. As an educational and cultural institution, the museum is dedicated to stimulating dialogue in the spirit of mutual understanding and respect. Museum's core exhibition is a journey through the 1000-year history of Polish Jews. Enter this theater of history where the story unfolds in acts and scenes as you walk. Immerse yourself in the story. Encounter those who lived in each period - their words are quoted throughout the exhibition. Enter the scene - a salon, tavern, home, church, synagogue, or schoolroom. There are surprises in drawers you can open, screens and objects you can touch, and much that you can see - artifacts, photographs, documents, and films. Each visit to the museum will be different. There will always be something new to inspire you!
Duration: 2-3 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Top ways to experience POLIN Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich

The area

Address
Neighborhood: Muranów
How to get there
  • Muranów • 5 min walk
  • Ratusz Arsenał • 10 min walk
Reach out directly

See what travelers are saying

  • Steve_Grant1
    Oldham, United Kingdom1,770 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Interesting
    An interesting museum which needs a couple of hours to visit. The museum needs a couple of hours to complete so allows enough time. It is not just about the exhibits but also the architecture! We also had lunch in the cafe which was good and reasonable priced.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written November 15, 2023
  • Jacob Zuckermann
    Oudenaarde, Belgium6 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Captivating journey through Polish Jewish history.
    The exhibits are well-curated, providing insight into a rich cultural heritage. The museum offers an immersive experience, making history come alive. Highly recommended for those interested in a comprehensive exploration of Jewish life in Poland.
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written November 21, 2023
  • Almeria2000
    Almeria, Spain508 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Unmissable museum about Jewish cultural heritage in Poland.
    Great deal on entry for a family with 2 student children. Audio guides in many languages. The museum moves through the history and onto a moving and emotional area dedicated to the terrible atrocities in WWII. Highly recommended.
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written April 1, 2024
  • petergab10
    Melbourne, Australia667 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Highlights Polish Jewish history
    POLIN museum makes a statement from its beautiful exterior glass tiles containing inscriptions written Hebrew. Which also faces towards the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes in Warsaw. The museum is dedicated to its Polish Jewish history, l did use the audio guide which was included in the ticket price to explore the multi-level museum. Which highlights the history and different stages, Polish Jewish people went through in Poland.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written May 7, 2024
  • RuLeaS
    Toronto, Canada16 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Engaging, interactive and informative!
    I highly recommend this visiting the Polin museum for an in depth Jewish history of Poland and other parts of Europe. The exhibits are excellent, full of interesting history and facts, interactive and engaging. This is a large museum that takes a lot of time to go through, but it is certainly worth the time. For those with difficulty walking there is lots of places to stop and rest on the way and the museum also supplies light stools which are very convenient.
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written July 1, 2024
  • Seren B
    Bournemouth, United Kingdom54 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Excellent - very educational
    Incredible amount of information about the history of Jews in Poland (Central Europe) from medieval times to now !! Of course includes history of the WW2 - I didn’t realise that of the 6m Jews that lost their lives in the Holocaust 3m were Polish !! Beautiful building and we stopped to eat a late lunch in the restaurant which was really delicious. Don’t leave Warsaw without visiting this important venue.
    Visited July 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written July 13, 2024
  • Georgia
    Perth, Australia21 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fantastic museum!
    I spent a good 4 hours in POLIN learning about the 1000 year history of Jews in Poland and surrounding Europe. The audio guides were great- providing information that was easy to understand and engaging. I also loved that the audio guide was triggered by movement throughout the rooms as it meant you could stay in an area that was of particular interest to you. Great for visitors of all ages!
    Visited July 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written July 14, 2024
  • Jakub U
    Warsaw, Poland7 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great Experience
    Well spent time in Museum, and really educational. In very nice way it illustrates the nearly thousand year history of jews in Poland. You should definitely go check it out if u have time!
    Visited July 2024
    Traveled solo
    Written July 16, 2024
  • R M
    Chambersburg, Pennsylvania276 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great History Facts
    Warsaw is loaded with great museums, however this should be at or close the top of your list. I would highly recommend a guided tour. The tour was about 2 hours, the tour guide spoke very good English, you get head phone and can hear the guide very well. There are some steps but they also have an elevator. This tour covers the complete Jewish history. It is suitable for younger children if the have an interest.
    Visited July 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written July 28, 2024
  • James F
    Arlington, Virginia113 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fascinating and Beautiful Must See History Museum
    My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this fascinating, beautiful and modern museum covering the 1,000 years of Jewish history in Poland. Rather than focusing on the five years of the Holocaust, the museum explains the entire complex story of the interaction between Polish Jews and Polish Christians, which heavily shaped both. All exhibits are in English and Polish so it’s totally accessible to non-Polish speakers. While Jews will find this museum of particular interest, we think it will be of interest to everyone, given how well presented and beautifully displayed all the exhibits are. We spent three hours here. We encourage the publisher of the beautiful museum catalogue to reprint the English edition because it’s been out of print and unavailable in the Museum Store for a year. (Plenty of the Polish edition available.) My husband had to buy a used copy on the Internet.
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written July 31, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles4,274 reviews
Excellent
3,045
Very good
808
Average
282
Poor
87
Terrible
52

Pippa H
London, UK87 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
The architecture of the Polin museum is very attractive and there is the option to leave coats in the cloakroom. Although there is a discounted ticket for students the woman at the desk was incredibly difficult and refused our student IDs (standard university IDs from the UK) so we had to pay the regular price. The exhibitions are very interactive and visual, with lots of first hand information as well as historical context. A lot of this information was useful and interesting, but the amount and presentation was overwhelming at times which made it hard to follow. The final rooms which focused on modern history and the treatment of Jewish people during WWII were very moving and interesting.
Written February 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

joeymanko
The Villages, FL10 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2019
I had heard, and even seen on television of the new museum in Warsaw, about the History Of The Polish Jews! What a place! Keep in mind, this is NOT a holocaust musem, despite plenty of displays about that.

This is like a trip into time. The design and windows of this structure make it quite unique, and through the various audio and visual displays, it is like you are actually there.

This museum is also very educational for children, and recommend you take them also. It is not a "downer", but a celebration of Jewish Life in Poland!!
Written January 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Emma
Bristol, UK269 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2022
I didn't realise how big this museum was before entering, so probably spent too long at the earlier sections because I had to go through the last few parts a bit quicker due to time constraints.
There was a lot of interesting information but the museum seemed to have a focus on reading things on the walls, and didn't have a lot of actual historical artefacts etc to look at. There were also several paintings which were replicas so it would have been nice to have more original things.
I didn't do the audio guide tour so that may have impacted the experience, but I found it to be quite overwhelming to read everything, and think there were parts that could have been condensed.
I think if I'd been doing it with the audio guide and spent less time in each section then it would have been a better experience, but I think it just probably wasn't my style of museum, as I'd rather read a book if absorbing so much information in one go.
Written February 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Melody Y
Taipei, Taiwan14 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Solo
I thought it’s a holocaust museum but I was wrong. It starts from the very beginning when Jewish first came to Poland all the way until today. It took me 3 hours yet I didn’t finish all of them. Very very abundant history, so, take your time to take in all the information. There’s an area for visitors to take a break which I think is necessary for the visiting of this museum :)
Written January 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Poleinahole
Switzerland2,420 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022 • Solo
I spent about five hours in this museum in 2 chunks of 2.5 hours. You will need a break as there is a lot of material to read and absorb.

On day 1, I rented an audio guide but it is superfluous if you have the time and interest to read everything from one exhibition to the next. If you are pushed for time or just want an overview it’s useful, however.

I’m a history buff and the history of WW2 and the camps was therefore well known to me, so I learned the most from the early exhibitions on how the Jews came to settle in Poland and the early tolerance that led to this as well as their challenges. It took me about 2.5 hours to get from when the Jews first arrived in Poland to the end of WW 1 and Jewish life in 1918.

The next day I went through the rest of the museum.

The exhibits are very well done with multi media bits of film; photos and soundtrack.

The restaurant is very good and serves healthy food with lots of salads and vegetables. The lentil snd cold borscht soup are especially good.

Poland had the largest population of Jews in Europe prior to WW2 and had a central rail position away from large cities, which explains why so many death camps were built in Poland and why so many Jews, Gypsies, etc. from Western Europe were transported to camps in Poland. This museum and a visit to some of the camps will help explain how this occurred.
Written July 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Linda S
Nottingham107 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Solo
This is a very comprehensive museum looking at all aspects of Jewish history in Poland through the ages.
Sometimes it is a bit confusing in regards to following the route around the exhibits.

I suggest that you take a rest as you go around as it can become somewhat overwhelming due to the massive amount of information exhibited. Audio guides are also available. The displays are very visual and also have information in English.
Well worth a visit.
Written January 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Asa Renda
Warsaw, Poland130 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2021 • Couples
Spent 5 hours there. The museum covers a broad range of topics and spans 1000 years of history; sadly, because of that, it feels overwhelming and there's a feeling that no topic is covered extensively. This probably should be 3-4 separate museums. Still, great insight into Jewish history in Poland that doesn't shy away from difficult topics (such as Polish antisemitism).
Written March 14, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ArabianPrincessQatar
Doha, Qatar102 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2020
I visited this museum almost eight months ago and honestly I'm still thinking about some of the exhibitions I've seen. To be clear, this museum focuses on the history of jewish people in Poland and only a small proportion is dedicated to the holocaust. Neverthless it's a very powerful element. I learnt so much, it was fascinating.
Written May 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

karol452
Edmonton, Canada1,005 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Solo
This is a must see in Warsaw. You are given a headset/audio guide which is included in the price of the ticket. Allow at least a couple of hours to read everything. The signs are in English and Polish. This museum discusses Jewish history. My recommendation is go early and use the audio guide.
Written June 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

petergab10
Melbourne, Australia667 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Solo
POLIN museum makes a statement from its beautiful exterior glass tiles containing inscriptions written Hebrew. Which also faces towards the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes in Warsaw. The museum is dedicated to its Polish Jewish history, l did use the
audio guide which was included in the ticket price to explore the multi-level museum. Which highlights the history and different stages, Polish Jewish people went through in Poland.
Written May 7, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Showing results 1-10 of 2,243
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

POLIN Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

All Warsaw HotelsWarsaw Hotel DealsLast Minute Hotels in Warsaw
All things to do in Warsaw
Day Trips in Warsaw
RestaurantsFlightsVacation RentalsTravel StoriesCruisesRental Cars